Camionetta SPA-Viberti AS42 Light Italian Truck - The Italian Desert Raider

The concept behind the AS42 "Sahariana" appeared in the minds of Italian designers in 1942, when the famous British and Commonwealth Long Range Desert Groups (LRDG), with their distinctive heavily-armed and unarmored long-range vehicles, were breaking far behind Axis lines, creating havoc in refilling bases or airfields. At the same time, their large-scale reconnaissance tasks were very valuable to Allied intelligence. The Regio Esercito (Italian Royal Army) tried to emulate these units by using a project that SPA-Viberti had proposed a year before based on the chassis of the AB41 armored car, itself derived from the chassis of the Fiat-SPA TM40 medium artillery tractor.
The AS42 “Sahariana’ was a reconnaissance car, initially unarmed. However, under pressure from the Italian Royal Army's high command, the vehicles received heavy armament. The SPA-Viberti AS42 was rapidly developed at the beginning of 1942. The prototype was presented to the army on July 9, 1942, passed all tests and was put into production in the SPA-Viberti factory in Turin as early as August 1942.
Article: tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/it...
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Information sources:
Le Camionette del Regio Esercito. Enrico Finazzer, Luigi Carretta. Gruppo Modellistico Trentino di studio e ricerca storica
Gli autoveicoli da combattimento dell'Esercito Italiano Vol. II Nicola Pignato e Filippo Cappellano Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito
I reparti corazzati della Repubblica Sociale Italiana 1943/1945. Paolo Crippa. Marvia edizioni
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An article by Arturo Giusti
Video mounted by Big Turn: / @bigturn1051
Audio edited by Gabethetanker
Voicing by Lucian Stan

[@jayfelsberg1931]

Wow! Talk about a tale we never hear of. Russia, Normandy, Market Garden.....an eight-day stand in Sicily.....daring raids in North Africa. I was aware of the quality of Italian special ops in both world wars, especially at sea, but this is a truly enlightening story. A tribute to Italian designers and the brave men that used the vehicles.

[@gunner678]

It's sad that people have forgotten history.bthis was a very useful vehicle.

[@mikesmith2905]

Fascinating. Finding information on the Italian forces in the second world war is difficult and this is a wonderfully detailed account. Thanks.

[@Sofus.]

really a sharp looking vehicle.

[@WildBillCox13]

Very interesting. This was an intelligent stab at creating a single light combat vehicle chassis able to be customized to almost any mission undertaken by wheeled vehicles. Also, the chassis was a well developed one quite up to the task at hand. Far better than the Willy's Jeep (though sadly far more expensive to produce), this was a bit of an Italian tour de force. I had thought it (the AS42) wholly unarmored. Thanks for the new data! Looking at Deutscher tactical use of PSW I can imagine the Arditti using the AB41 up on the line, probing enemy positions, with heavily armed AS42 (especially the 47mm) sitting back a bit, ready to concentrate on the enemy cars/tanks as they're spotted or open fire. Lastly, I am a bit daunted by the idea of surrounding a forward operating recon vehicle with gasoline/petrol/benzine cans. "The desert is so confusing. So much wind and sand and our own motor noise. Muizzle flashes are fleeting and the daylight blots them out. How will I know if we come under fire, sir?" "Oh, you'll know, all right."

[@fabianmok2206]

That is the most beautiful vehicle i have seen.

[@WildBillCox13]

I like it, too. An altogether fine job of work.

[@veronicalogotheti1162]

It looks very modern

[@carroarmato199]

oh yeah Camionetta (Camionnette) means little truck. Certainly one of my favorite recon vehicle and quite versatile. I did not know it was used by the police after the war and I did not know it was based/inspired on more chassis than the AB-41. That SPA TM40 got me good when trying to guess what vehicle was next ahah!

[@TanksEncyclopediaYT]

Glad you like the article and liked our riddle!

[@navelriver]

A great looking and performing vehicle. And a cool name "Sahariana"!

[@johnnemo6509]

Best review of this amazing vehicle i've seen, Interesting to compare the performance of the AS42 specifically design for its role with the converted trucks and jeeps used by allied groups like LRDG and and pop ski's private army. Italian military often gets a poor review but this shows they were brave men and in some cases had excellent equipment. thanks for putting this together!

[@brainyskeletonofdoom7824]

I think it is quite incorrect to say that the Regio Esercito tried to emulate the LRDG, just because the Italian counterpart (Compagnie auto-avio sahariane, as said in the video) existed since 1937! I think they needed a dedicated counter to those groups, rather than an a simple emulation, or an integration of some LRDG tacticts into their own; the Compagnie were quite successful from at least one year prior to the introduction of the AS42.

[@johnnemo6509]

I agree the Italian military has long experience of desert warfare and the AS42 owes it's development to this

[@gunner678]

A Jackal of WW2. Bravo!

[@grimdesaye6534]

This was Outstanding Info. THANK YOU :)

[@CarlWest-vb7iy]

Is there one of these in a museum somewhere ? Warrants a closer look.

[@highjumpstudios2384]

This is without a doubt one of my favorite unarmored vehicles built to date. Italy may be hit or miss when it comes to vehicle design, (looking at you M11/39) but if I ever get the opportunity to see, let alone own one? I’m taking it.

[@TanksEncyclopediaYT]

It is armored. Well, the lower part is.

[@letoubib21]

*_"This is without a doubt one of my favorite unarmored vehicles. . ."_* Unarmored?! Open topped, but at least mildly armored. . .

[@highjumpstudios2384]

You sling a rock fast enough and it’ll go through that. At the most? I’d consider it lightly armored. Nothin more nothing less.

[@gianlucamalvasi7007]

Great Job, and great vehicle. 6 ton vehicle and 88 engine really shows what the italian industrial corporations were about: sitting comfortably under the wing of the regime, while saving every penny and their stocks of rare metals (that's why Fascist officials refused to buy Panzer IV blueprints and kept using riveted armour tanks).

[@TanksEncyclopediaYT]

They actually bought both the Panzer IV blueprints and the Panther blueprints (along with other stuff, such as engines). They just never built them.

[@gianlucamalvasi7007]

@@TanksEncyclopediaYT Man that's even worse

[@TanksEncyclopediaYT]

You can read a lot more about that in this article tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/Italy/italian-panther

[@gianlucamalvasi7007]

@@TanksEncyclopediaYT thanks

[@ECHOFOXTROT289]

0:51 actually the auto-avio Saharan companies for which the sahariana was developed predate the LRDG by quite a bit, being already operational in Italian Libya from 1937, with the aim of patrolling the desert interior of the country.

[@beau4170]

yeah rewrite history - It is assumed the allies had no tracer bullets as the fascists had a petrol station on the sides - really great design what

[@INWMI]

this thing looks like a Daesh insurgent truck in warthunder, even the operators wears black

[@TanksEncyclopediaYT]

That was actually the uniform of some of the Republican Army units, they were called the Black Shirts.

[@johnd2058]

@@TanksEncyclopediaYT That must have been lovely in the sun.

[@casematecardinal]

@@johnd2058 well thick black clothing is actually very useful in the desert. The heat doesn't transmit to the skin and insulates you at night

[@johnd2058]

@@casematecardinal Oh. That explains the mamluk-raider archetypical outfit. Thanks.

[@casematecardinal]

@@johnd2058 no problem. It may seem counter productive but its the same principle as to why the sr 71 is black

[@letoubib21]

One Question: All those Jerry cans, were they "rebuilds" of German ones only, or own, Italian design?

[@TanksEncyclopediaYT]

Italian made ones we assume.

[@steffenrosmus9177]

Afaik all Axis forces used those Jereybcans und licences. Fun factor design was from Ambi Budd but rejected by US Army

[@letoubib21]

@@steffenrosmus9177 Fun? Ambi-Budd was a German manufacturer in Berlin. But one question: As far as I remember Ambii-Budd only built bodyworks. Am I right?

[@georgehorniman]

Would i be right in assuming that the tyres were solid? They were very vulnerable otherwise.

[@greatcanadianmoose3965]

Are there any in existance to this day?

[@robs5688]

Good question. I've watched a number of videos about this vehicle in recent years and it doesn't seem like there are any surviving models. There are nice 1/43 scale diecast models available, for what it's worth.

[@hellavadeal]

Looks like a fire bomb on wheels.

[@casematecardinal]

Generally gasoline doesn't catch fire when shot, and even if it does catch fire, it'll just poor out. It works pretty good as armor because the gasoline will blunt bullets or stop them entirely

[@dylanmilne6683]

Oh you've decided to stay on the German side then? Why I've got this excellent front to send you to nice and open just like the sahara, you'll love it

[@jebise1126]

aliens apc...

[@warlord195711]

Why not fit a bigger fuel tank, rather than carry 20 jerrycans of fuel on the outside?

[@benjaminsamson3096]

First?

[@TanksEncyclopediaYT]

First, but lame.

[@johnd2058]

SECOND

[@sheadjohn]

Pizza delivery car? "Fly Daily"

[@joerosa2532]

The Italian RDT "Arditi" Recon Destruction Teams!!!